PAX Centurion - April / June 2016

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • April-May-June 2016 • Page 9 Treasury Notes: Robert P. Colburn, BPPA Treasurer See Treasurer on page 25 Go into retirement with all the knowledge you need Plan for a more comfortable retirement with a 457(b) supplemental retirement savings plan: Tax-deferred saving and investing Diversified menu of investment options at low fees 1 Free financial education and online planning tools 2 Learn more about the Massachusetts Deferred Compensation SMART Plan. 1 Diversification does not ensure a profit and does not protect against loss in declining markets. 2Access to the voice response system and/or any website may be limited or unavailable during periods of peak demand, market volatility, systems upgrades/maintenance or other reasons. Core securities, when offered, are offered through GWFS Equities, Inc. and/or other broker-dealers. GWFS Equities, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Life &Annuity Insurance Company. Representatives of GWFS Equities, Inc. cannot offer investment, fiduciary, financial, legal or tax advice. Please consult with your financial planner, attorney and/or tax advisor as needed.All trademarks, logos, service marks, and design elements used are owned by their respective owners and are used by permission. ©2016 Great-West Life &Annuity Insurance Company.All rights reserved. Form CB1096MT (2/2016) PT256131 Agency Address Boston Police Patrolmens Associa0on 295 Freeport St, Dorchester MA Date Time July 6 th , 2016 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Please call Zak Nabulsi at 774.239.0040 or e-mail at zakeriah.nabulsi@empower-re0rement to schedule an appointment. W hen it comes to deciding when it is time to retire one should not go into that decision without much careful thought and due diligence. There are many factors to consider with many variants, each based upon the individual’s situation in life and what each individual expects upon entering the next phase of life. That said, one should always be prepared for retirement because in our line of work you just never know. A big misconception is that your pension and your pension alone will be enough to live on. Experience tells us that this is simply the exception rather than the rule. As police officers we enjoy the ability to earn extra income through our details and overtime. Even if you don’t voluntarily work extra details or OT, the amount of forced overtime still means you will have a substantial increase on your base salary. As you work year to year and grow accustomed to a certain lifestyle you should be saving in a supplemental retirement plan such as the smart plan or some other tax deferred saving plans. When you are accustomed to earning $20,000 plus extra a year, this point cannot be understated.Your pension is based on BASE pay ONLY!!! Overtime and details do NOT count !! While your pension may seem adequate to sustain you through the early years, inflation will rear its ugly head and if not prepared you could be in for difficult times. Consider this in 2016 example: Patrolman, Bachelor’s degree, 32 years 55 years of age, 80% of BASE and after allowing for Option C the spousal benefit, paying Federal tax of approximately $730, paying health insurance approximately $360 (Harvard Pilgrim Family Plan), optional dental insurance of $125 will leave you with a monthly take home of approximately $4,500. That’s right… just $4,500 a month! Forever! This illustration shows why it is imperative to begin saving early and planning early. While socking away as much as you can (even small amounts add up over time) there are a few other ways to boost your retirement by as much as 8%. While some may say these seem painful in the present, the benefits will last the life of your pension. Start by looking seven years out from target retirement date. With this date in mind begin selling back your time. You can sell back your four personal days each year as well as up to four weeks vacation. If you max out on the buy backs, especially in the your last three years, which are hopefully your high three years of salary, you may boost your pension by almost 8%. That is 8% forever. That is significant. Even if you don’t sell the max allowed any amount of time sold will increase your pension somewhat. Remember, your pension is FIXED and will only decrease as your health / dental insurance premiums Increase! Bear in mind that Public Pensions are under attack! Through the media, pressure is mounting on our legislators to “reform” public pensions. Currently they are attacking the buy back of sick time (non pensionable income) as well as vacation buy backs. We are working hard to protect and preserve our hard earned benefits but we need you to do your part. At the right time, when we ask, make sure you pick up the phone to call your legislators. If you have any questions now feel free to contact me at the Hall. Remember your Seven “P’s” Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Pension Performance! Hundred Club of Massachusetts M r. John Lynch, President of the Hundred Club spoke at the last House of Representatives meeting. He was very well received. Many of our Reps had not heard of the Hundred Club of Massachusetts before. This organization has helped countless numbers of our members in their time of need and
they still support members. For those who have not heard of the Hundred Club of Massachusetts I encourage you to look them up online at 100clubmass.org Even some of those people who had heard of the Hundred Club believed this organization only helps families of officers killed in the line of duty. This is not true. The Club is also unique in that it provides a one-time benefit to a surviving spouse and any minor child/children of a police officer or firefighter in an active duty (non- line-of-duty) death. • One time check for $10,000 to surviving spouse. • One time check for $2,000 to each minor child of the deceased. As we all know we have lost too many active duty police officers over the last few years to suicide and health issues. The Hundred Club has been there for their families. In these times where the climate against law enforcement is strained, to put it lightly, the